We all have seen enough of old, established residential

neighborhoods being carved up by new, high-density developments here on

the Eastside. That concept focuses on maximizing density at the expense

of quality-of-life in our suburban neighborhoods.

But a proposal by King County Executive Ron Sims would make

it even easier to buy and bulldoze your neighbor’s

house, then put up dozens of high-rise condos on the

other side of your fence. In the process of amending

the county’s Comprehensive Plan, Mr. Sims wants to build

high-rise condos just outside the city limits, such as

the Hans Jensen and Providence Point areas just north

of Issaquah. Such areas could be rezoned to allow 24 or 48 residential units

per acre, which is double to quadruple the current limit of 12 units.

Neighborhoods don’t much care about imaginary municipal

lines, however. When you buy a house to raise your family in a

medium-density residential neighborhood, you expect the neighborhood across

the street, down the block or behind the back fence to conform with your

own type of housing. That is what zoning is all about _ grouping similar

uses adjacent to each other. Just like a factory isn’t allowed in the middle of

a neighborhood of three-bedroom houses with lawns and hedges,

you don’t plop down a block of high-density/high-rise condos there either

just because it is on the other side of the invisible city boundary.

King County is required to provide for growth under the state

Growth Management Act. But King County does not have to compromise

neighborhoods in order to meet the state goals. The Comprehensive Plan

zoning should mesh with and provide seamless transition from one side

of the city limits to the other side. Some areas may be appropriate for

high-density housing, especially if that zoning exists inside the city limits.

But mostly, county planners need to realize that their job is not just to

move numbers and squares around on a flat map. They must accommodate

real people in real houses in long-established neighborhoods. The

tendency of the county to put people last has resulted in a flood of annexations

and incorporations, solely to keep the county from meddling with

zoning that is unfeasible and destructive.

As the County Council moves toward adoption of Comprehensive

Plan revisions in September, I will continue to push for keeping

neighborhood character intact. This move toward unincorporated up-zoning has

justifiably drawn the concern of the city of Issaquah and the city of

Renton, among others. Suburban cities have a great interest in preventing their

communities from becoming ringed with high-density development that

does not benefit the city at all. Such up-zoning would already exacerbate

the traffic misery and environmental degradation inside the city limits,

while also straining the resources of the municipality, at the expense of city

residents.

At the same time, this proposal has inflamed rural residents, who live

in unincorporated areas specifically to get away from the high density

of metropolitan areas. Apartment and townhouse complexes of up to

48 units per acre do not belong in rural/residential areas. Certainly the

county must plan for growth, but high-density development belongs in

established metropolitan centers, where utilities, mass transit, parks,

police service and other amenities already are available. Such high density

should never be allowed in rural areas already strangled by traffic and taxed by

development.